Blake C. Scott

The Crossroads of Religion and Development: Guatemala's Ixil Region, Evangelical Religion, and General Ríos Montt Blake C. Scott

This book explores how a group of evangelical Christians aided the Guatemalan army's counterinsurgency campaign ? logistically, financially, and theologically ? in the highlands of Guatemala in 1982 and 1983. It explains how the military government of General José Efraín Ríos Montt turned to evangelical Christianity to buttress anti- communist and neoliberal development programs in one particular highland area, the Ixil Region. The book also sheds light on why U. S and Guatemalan evangelical missionaries willfully supported a right- wing dictatorship, embracing their role as "spiritual soldiers" and legitimizing the Guatemalan army through theological teachings and relief work.